The present invention relates generally to carriers and more particularly to carriers with stair climbing aids.
Stairs facilitate traveling up and down vertical distances. When trying to move objects such as luggage, hand carts, and the like (hereinafter generically referred to as “carriers”), stairs pose an obstacle. When moving carriers such as, for example, luggage, such as a wheeled suitcase, up a flight of stairs, the rear surface of the carrier facing the stairs ordinarily defines an acute angle with a horizontal plane of the ground such that the rear surface of the carrier will ordinarily contact a nosing of the staircase at a point. The user will then pull the carrier up over the nosing of the staircase by dragging the rear surface of the carrier across the nosing of the staircase. This tends to damage the rear surface of the carrier as well as the nosing of the staircase. Some carriers are provided with fixed surfaces, such as projecting elongated structures that function similar to runners on sleds, to assist in dragging the carrier over the nosing of the staircase by reducing the surface area of the carrier in contact with the nosing, however, after a few such drags, the fixed surfaces tend to become scuffed and are not particularly helpful in reducing the amount of effort needed to drag the carrier over the nosing.
A variety of apparatus have been provided to facilitate raising of carriers over stairs. U.S. Patent App. Pub. US2013/0186698, for example, shows a carrier with a stair climbing aid with a large, bulky tri-wheel on each side. For this device to work, the height of the tri-wheel must be the same as the step or taller. The tri-wheel will tend to bang against steps and, therefore, it must be made of heavy, sturdy material, increasing its weight. The tri-wheel is impractical in many cases where space and weight is a concern. It might also damage the stairs by its impact against them.
U.S. Patent App. Pub. US2010/0108412 shows another form of carrier with a stair climbing aid in the form of an endless belt around an oval shaped track with small rollers under the belt. This arrangement would be expected to be expensive and heavy.
It is desirable to provide a carrier with a stair climbing aid that is simple to manufacture, inexpensive to manufacture, and light in weight.
According to an aspect of the present invention, a carrier with a stair climbing aid comprises a carrier comprising a top surface, a bottom surface, and a front surface and a rear surface between the top surface and the bottom surface, at least one guide bar attached to the rear surface, the guide bar having a first end disposed proximate a corner between the bottom surface and the rear surface and a second end at least as high as stair risers of stairs expected to be climbed, at least one elongated member movably attached to the guide bar, and means for urging a top end of the elongated member toward the second end of the guide bar.
According to another aspect of the present invention, a carrier with a stair climbing aid comprises a carrier comprising a to surface, a bottom surface, and a from surface and a rear surface between the top surface and the bottom surface, at least one guide bar attached to the rear surface, the guide bar having a first end disposed proximate a corner between the bottom surface and the rear surface and a second end at least as high as stair risers of stairs expected to be climbed, at least one elongated member movably attached to the guide bar, and means for urging a bottom end of the elongated member toward the first end of the guide bar.
According to yet another aspect of the present invention, a stair climbing aid is provided for a carrier, the carrier comprising a top surface, a bottom surface, and a front surface and a rear surface between the top surface and the bottom surface, the stair climbing aid comprising at least one guide bar attachable to the rear surface, the guide bar having a first end adapted to be disposed proximate a corner of the carrier between the bottom surface and the rear surface and a second end adapted to be disposed at least as high as stair risers of stairs expected to be climbed, at least one elongated member movably attached to the guide bar; and means for urging at least one of a top end of the elongated member toward the second end of the guide bar and a bottom end of the elongated member toward the first end of the guide bar.